COEmergency Pages

High Park Fire Update: June 28 at 7:30 PM (#HighParkFire)

Information from the High Park Fire Public Information Officer

A
great deal has changed in the past 36 hours, particularly with regard to
progress on fire containment as well as roads and subdivisions being
reopened.

The
High Park Fire is estimated at 87,284 acres, meaning the fire has not grown for
two days. Containment is now estimated at 85 percent. The estimated containment
date has been moved up from July 15th to July 1st. The current cost of the fire
to date is estimated at 36.4 million dollars. There are 1,125
personnel
assigned to the firefighting effort.
Equipment resources include: 3 Type 1 hand crews, 9 Type 2 hand crews, 79
engines, 9 dozers and 12 water tenders. Air Resourcesinclude;
3 Type I (heavy) helicopters, 4 Type III (light) helicopters, fixed wing support
aircraft, and available heavy air tankers.

It
should be noted that "containment" means that a containment line exists around
the fire, which fire managers believe will hold the fire within the perimeter.
"Control" means that the fire is actually out which, on a fire of this
magnitude, typically requires an act of nature such as prolonged rain or
snowfall. Islands of fire will continue to burn within the perimeter during the
containment phase and residents should expect to see smoke for days, weeks, and
even months as the fire moves from containment to control.

Current
Situation:

The
fire continues to smolder and creep in steep, inaccessible areas with heavy
beetle killed timber. Record low live fuel moistures with high temperatures, low
relative humidity, and gusty thunderstorm winds continue to present a risk for
escape. There have been several flashflood warnings within the area. Evacuation
and re-entry to subdivisions pose continuing security and trespassing safety
concerns. Portions of Colorado Highway 14 remain closed, impacting access to and
use of popular recreation areas. The
fire team has made many resources available for reassignment to other fires, but
is keeping crews and equipment to sustain effective suppression work across the
High Park Fire.

Planned
Actions:

Line
reinforcement, holding, mop-up and structure protection to maintain existing
control efforts will continue. The remote sensing data will be used tactically
to guide firefighters to remaining heat pockets around structures and within
unburned islands in the interior of the burn area. Operations personnel continue
to secure the southwest portion of the fire. Fire line rehabilitation continues
on all divisions with resource advisors guidance. Spike camps are being closed
over the next two days.

Reintegration:

Several
areas were reopened to residents today, which allowed the majority of the
evacuees to return to their homes. The areas that were reopened were:

-
Rist Canyon Road, including all connecting roads, including the following
subdivisions;

-
Pine Acres - Whale Rock

-
Davis Ranch - Rist Creek

-
Rist Canyon - Stratton Park

-
Spring Valley - Tip Top Ranch

-
Laurence Creek

-
Paradise Park

-
Stove Prairie Road from Buckhorn Road to Bent Timber Lane

-
Old Flowers Road from Stove Prairie Road to the 8000 block

Special
credentials are needed to enter the Rist Canyon and Paradise Park areas.
Credentials may be obtained at the road checkpoints. Residents will need
identification showing their local address, or identification and another
document such as a utility bill or a tax statement establishing their connection
to the property. Residents of Laurence Creek should be ready to show
identification at checkpoints and roadblocks.

Traffic
returning to the area is expected to be heavy. Residents who live south of Rist
Canyon Road are urged to enter the area from the west using Stove Prairie
Road.

Fire
officials plan to allow residents to enter the 12th Filing of Glacier View at
noon Friday. These residents will need special credentials, which can be picked
up at the roadblock on Eiger Road.

All
residents returning to their homes need to remain vigilant and consider
themselves in a pre-evacuation status until otherwise
notified.

Structures
Damaged:

The
total number of homes destroyed to date remains at 257.

Weather

The
weather is expected to be partly cloudy this evening with isolated thunderstorms
until 10 p.m. Weather conditions will become slightly cooler, with possible
thunderstorms late Tuesday afternoon that could produce gusty and erratic winds
near 50 mph.

Because
so many evacuees now have access to their homes, no further citizen briefings
are planned. Remaining evacuees are welcome to call the Fire Information line at
(970) 498-5500. They may also obtain information at www.larimer.org/emergency.

Media
Briefing(s):

The
next media briefing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Friday, June 29, 2012. The
9 a.m. press conference with the National Guard has been cancelled.
Briefings are held at the CSU Department of Atmospheric Science, located at 3915
W. Laporte Avenue in Fort Collins.

Additional
Information/Resources:

Larimer
County has opened the High Park Fire Disaster Recovery Center on the Colorado
State University Campus at Johnson Hall. The center is open Mon-Fri from 9 a.m.
to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parking is free for
victims on the south side of the administration building. For more information,
please visit their website athttp://www.safety.colostate.edu.